Root and Brook put England on top before bad weather forces end to play

4 days ago 2

Brendon McCullum was caught on camera with his head buried in a crossword puzzle book while it rained at the SCG and solving those clues must have seemed easier than the problems with England’s batting.

No 1 is what to do about Harry Brook? No 2 is working out why England’s top three has collapsed so badly, with even the one consistent figure, Ben Duckett, badly misfiring.

Brook is undoubtedly a world-class talent, who has scored 3,130 runs in 35 Tests with 10 hundreds, including the first triple century by an Englishman for 30 years.

Alongside Joe Root he combined for England’s highest stand of the series, an unbeaten 154, before bad light and rain curtailed play just before tea on day one. Brook’s unbeaten 78 and Root’s 72 repaired England from 57 for three – losing three for 22 – to a respectable 211 for three at the close, and a chance to build something meaningful, both personally and collectively, on day two.

Boos rang out at the SCG as play was abandoned, after half an hour of dry weather and the bluest skies for several hours.

It does at least guarantee play beyond day two – surely – but England were building nicely before the rain fell and now face having to restart and regain that momentum. Australia’s decision to pick an all-seam attack at the SCG for the first time since 1888 felt like one of the pillars of their cricket falling and they did look like a samey, predictable bowling line-up as Root and Brook bedded in.

Spin bowling has long been an English problem, and the Australia of Richie Benaud, Shane Warne and Nathan Lyon appears to be heading for the same territory.

A hundred for Brook would lift a poor series which has been emblematic of England’s tour. He has not fulfilled his talent or promise when it has mattered most, and that reflects the Bazball Ashes trip as a whole.

This innings was a smattering of the breathless and brainless and followed Duckett starting well, only to fall for 27, his career average dipping below 40 for the first time since his Test career restarted nearly three years ago.

More to follow...

06:55am

Michael Vaughan on Zak Crawley

“Zak Crawley frustrates the life out of me. The ball that got him out should not have got him out. There must be something in his concentration. He looks such a good player and then just gets out. His concentration levels are not the strongest. He is not chasing the ball outside off stump. He is a player that I have watched enough to know there is more in the tank. The movement he had today was fantastic but he needs to understand how to concentrate at this level.”

Zak Crawley walks off after he was dismissed

06:50am

Phil Tufnell on BBC TMS

“The England openers have some technical problems. I am no batsman, but you are told to play with the full face of the bat. And then you create angles after 30 or 40 runs. But anything that nips around for England, they seem to be all at sea. So there are some technical issues. This England batting lineup and Bazball is about going through the gears. But sometimes you can get into third gear and then just stay there. You do not always have to go up to the fourth and fifth gears and then give the wicket away.”

06:45am

Harry Brook speaking to BBC TMS

“We knew it was going to rain today and when we came off, we knew it was coming. We just sat and waited for it to be called off.”

On batting with Joe Root:

“It is a good wicket to bat on. We managed to rotate strike nicely and it was a nice surface to play on. Playing with Joe, your innings ticks over. He is always looking to rotate and score runs and that is part of batting. It is not just about surviving.”

On the pitch:

“It is the best pitch in this series, for sure. Australia do not have a spinner and probably thought it would do more than it did. It is generally a good wicket. It would be nice to win this and go home 3-2. We need to stick to our processes this week and working towards modes of dismissal. There is no reason we cannot win this.”

On the plan beforehand:

“We did not chat that much. It is all about consistency. We want to put pressure with our batting and work as a unit in the field. I am enjoying playing under Baz [Brendon McCullum] and [Ben] Stokes and it has been a highlight of my career so far. Baz gives you so much confidence, he is the best coach I have ever had.”

On what is a good total:

“No par total, just taking it ball by ball. We are living the dream and every 10 year-old wants to be here. We are all living our dream and you have to smile whether you are on top or not.”

Harry Brook hits the ball away on day one

06:40am

Best fourth-wicket partnerships for England in Tests at the SCG

182: Colin Cowdrey/ Peter May (1959)
174: Michael Atherton/ John Crawley (1995)
154*: Joe Root/ Harry Brook (2025)

06:36am

Michael Vaughan on BBC TMS

“This Australia team have switched off. Their bowling today was very poor. Mitchell Starc bowled a half-decent spell, Scott Boland and Michael Neser as well but that attack with the ball today on this pitch was there for the taking. They look like a touring team that just want to get on the plane home. Australia usually want to hammer England 5-0 but they have not given that impression today.”

06:32am Key moments

Sir Geoffrey’s view of the first day

06:15am

Jonathan Agnew on BBC TMS

“It is always the first day crowd that suffers. You can make the match up as far as the time is concerned, but not for the people who are here today. Disgraceful. Where is the mop for the rain?”

06:07am

Unhappy fans

Considerable booing from the remaining crowd as stumps called after barely two sessions’ play. Such is the capricious nature of Sydney’s midsummer weather, with a swirling stormfront bringing bad light, lightning and rain in an ever-changing order. Still, four clear days are left, by the look of the forecast, so a repeat of the draw here in 2022 seems almost unthinkable.

06:04am Key moments

Play abandoned

Unfortunately, the news is not good and play on day one has come to a close due to rain. England will resume at the start of day two on 211/3 with Joe Root on 72 and Harry Brook 78. Play on day two will start at 11pm UK time, half an hour earlier than usual to make up some time.

Unclear exactly why we didn’t get back on, but it seems it’s a combination of lightning, and the time it took to get back on. There were a few boos from disappointed fans at the end there.

06:02am

Nick Hoult: Jonathan Agnew flew me around the outback in his Cessna

“There is a family of roos down there,” Jonathan Agnew says over the intercom on our four-seat airplane.

We are approaching the end of the dirt runway at Parachilna airfield, around five hours north of Adelaide in the South Australia outback, and Agnew is at the controls next to his instructor from the UK, Mark Onyett.

I am strapped in the seat directly behind Agnew and next to his wife, Emma. It is at this stage that I start to regret that morning’s full Australian breakfast and the palms of my hands start to sweat. Emma hands over a mint. “These help,” she says. I now remember that Emma, who has been flying with Jonathan for years, skipped breakfast. That was the hint.

The kangaroos hop away, scattering into the bush as the single-engine Cessna 182T hums down the runway, and lifts slowly into the air heading north, bound for Lake Eyre, around 150 kilometres away.

05:47am

Don’t say it Will!

There is no action to report here, but a small smattering of fans have started to slow clap. This has the distinct air of the umpires just waiting until a certain time (5pm?) to call the day off.

05:40am

Can we get back out there Will?

It is, right now, a little brighter, and the rain seems to have stopped. But if we are to get back on somehow, we would need the clean-up to begin sharpish. The suggestion is there is more bad weather coming, too.

05:26am

Lengthy delay

We have not had play since just before 4am UK time, when they took a slightly early tea break. At that point, the players were taken off due to bad light but rain has come as have thunder and lightning. The prospects of play are not looking great for the rest of the day but the forecast for the rest of the game is looking pretty decent, with plenty of sun and heat.

05:15am

TNT crew on England’s day

05:12am

Not the most positive of updates!

The umpires are coming out to take a look – but have their brollie up and are retreating quickly.

We’ve just had some thunder and lightning, which is never good news for those hoping to get back on.

The scene at the SCG as bad light and rain stop play

05:09am

Stunning picture!

But not what you want to see for the prospects of more play today.

The covers on at the SCG with storm clouds above the ground

05:02am

Oliver Brown: Usman Khawaja’s deserved criticism was nothing to do with race

Not every perceived slight has to be refracted through the prism of race. Not every criticism of an athlete of colour needs to be recast as some sinister manifestation of white privilege, worthy of a national moment of truth and reconciliation. Except Usman Khawaja has apparently decided otherwise, arguing that rational objections to his loose build-up for this Ashes series are rooted purely in the fact that he is Muslim. The default reaction within cricket has been to salute Uzzie for his courage, to thank him for shining a light on rampant Islamophobia in modern Australia. And yet a more fitting response, frankly, would be a giant collective eye-roll.

The two targets of Khawaja’s ire, during a retirement press conference at the Sydney Cricket Ground doubling as a state-of-the-nation lecture, were highly specific: the media and former players. Both these constituencies had the temerity to ask why he mobilised for the first Test in Perth by competing in a golf event 24 hours earlier at nearby Lake Karrinyup, only to develop back spasms that prevented him from opening the batting. The decision drew incredulity among several predecessors in the national team, with former captain Mark Taylor calling the situation “not a great look”.

Now Khawaja has convinced himself that the public rebuke had nothing to do with his form and everything to do with his racial identity. “The way that everyone came at me about my preparation,” he said, “was quite personal, in terms of things like: ‘He’s not committed to the team, he was only worried about himself, the played this golf comp the day before, he’s selfish, he doesn’t train hard enough, he’s lazy.’ I thought we were past that, but there’s still a little out there which I have to fight every single day.”

04:56am

Nick Hoult: My six-hour lunch with the dads of the England batsmen

Cricket is a small community and there is no better example of that on this Ashes tour than the three men sitting around a restaurant table overlooking the Yarra River in Melbourne.

Graham Bethell, Graham Duckett and Matt Root are all old team-mates enjoying a second life in cricket as England dads on tour watching their sons play in the Ashes.

Bethell is the link. He played with Duckett for Dulwich for two summers from 1984 and for Sheffield Collegiate in 1986 and 1987 before returning for seven summers from 1990, captaining a team who also included Root Snr and Michael Vaughan. “When I was playing with Matt, the two little Root boys would always be there, dressed in whites running around the outfield playing cricket,” Bethell says.

“They would knock stumps in on the outfield, have a game and would only stop when the match started,” Root says. “We once got to a national final at Lord’s and went to the Nursery Ground nets before the game. As we came back there was a huge commotion going on out in the middle. The groundsman was throwing his arms in the air and was not happy: the boys were knocking the stumps in on the Lord’s outfield.”

04:49am

Grim scene!

Not great for the outlook for the rest of the day. Rain, thunder, lightning, you name it in Sydney right now! If you’re England, would you prefer it if play was just wiped out for the rest of the day and come back tomorrow morning with the sun out? Even though England are the ones in the strong position, that is probably the case!

04:42am

Yorkshire-led recovery

13 overs into the day, England found themselves 57/3 following the wickets of Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley and Jacob Bethell. But the Yorkshire duo of Joe Root and Harry Brook have combined brilliantly to put England in a strong position at this delay at 211/3. Root is on 72 whilst Brook is 78 not out. One of the criticisms of England during this series has been their inability at times to build partnerships but Root and Brook’s one has passed 150.

04:38am

Still off!

The full covers are on, as well as the floodlights. No prospect of play any time soon, but there’s no major rain falling. Maybe spitting.

04:36am

Cook and Swann on Brook

04:26am

When will we get back on?

Thanks Rob. Kieran Crichard here to take you through to the close. There is no imminent restart in store, with covers now in place. The groundstaff, who should know best about what the incoming weather should be doing, are on duty and pre-empting what seems like an inevitable big storm. The light is clearly no better than it was before the tea break so even though it is not raining (yet!), the players are not returning quite yet. We will keep you up-to-date with all events from the SCG and when we might get back on.

04:20am

The covers are going on

The evening session is due to begin but the light remains poor. The covers are also going on, which suggests a thunderstorm is imminent.

Even if there is no further play today, the forecast for the rest of the game is very good.

04:17am

Cruise control

Joe Root batted beautifully to reach 72 not out before bad light forced an early tea break.

03:59am

Tea

Off we go for an undisclosed reason. Light? Rain? Storms? Guess tea will be taken, with a few people booing. It’s quite dark and threatening to rain but feels a little hasty. Maybe Australia were asked to bowl spin, but don’t have a specialist to throw the ball to.

03:58am

Bad light stops play

The crowd aren’t happy but the light isn’t great and it looks like a thunderstorm is imminent. You can understand why the umpires want to get the pitch covered as soon as possible.

That should mean an early tea. If so, it will have been a rare wicketless session in this series, with Root and Brook looking largely untroubled on the best batting pitch of the series.

Joe Root and Harry Brook have put England in a fine position in the final Test at Sydney.

03:56am

OVER 45: ENG 210/3 (Root 72 Brook 78)

Root, who has run very well all day, clips Neser to mid-on for another quick single. The umpires are checking the light, even with the floodlights on, and the players are leaving the field.

03:51am

OVER 44: ENG 208/3 (Root 70 Brook 77)

Brook charges Green, makes room and flat-bats another boundary past the man at cover. A single brings up the 150 partnership, England’s highest of the series to date, and then Brook plays and misses at successive deliveries from Green. Australia appealed for caught behind on the first but it missed everything.

03:46am

OVER 43: ENG 202/3 (Root 69 Brook 72)

I’m surprised Australia haven’t tried Beau Webster’s offspin, even for two or three overs, because the ball is doing very little for the seamers. England’s top three will also be lamenting the runs they left out there, even if Duckett and Bethell fell to pretty good deliveries.

03:44am

OVER 42: ENG 200/3 (Root 68 Brook 71)

Brook hits consecutive twos off Green to move into the seventies. His highest score against Australia is the 85 he made at The Oval in 2023 - this is a great chance to top that and also ensure he doesn’t have to answer questions about making a hundred in Australia when he returns in 2029-30 and 2033-34.

03:38am

OVER 41: ENG 194/3 (Root 67 Brook 66)

The clouds are gathering over the SCG and the floodlights have just been turned on. There’s around half an hour to play until the scheduled tea break.

03:31am

‘Richie Benaud would be turning in his grave’

It feels an emblem of how much Australian pitches have changed in recent years that the hosts have not picked a spinner at Sydney of all places. The stat doing the round is that in 140 years, they’ve never done that. Traditionally, this is the venue where you’d contemplate selecting two, not none. “Richie Benaud would be turning in his grave,” writes the great Crash Craddock in the Courier-Mail.

The weird thing is that Australia actually have some quite good spinners, even below Nathan Lyon. Most states have a more than serviceable option, and Todd Murphy looks handy. But the conditions mean they’re not picking them.

03:31am

OVER 40: ENG 191/3 (Root 65 Brook 65)

“Caaaaatch!” screams somebody in the Australian team as Root slashes Green just over backward point. The cry goes up again next ball when Brook mishits a whirling hook stroke that drops well short of fine leg.

Brook repeats the stroke later in the over, except this time he nails it for a huge, 96-metre six. In the parlance of our time, his beans are going.

Harry Brook launches Cameron Green for six.

03:30am

OVER 39: ENG 181/3 (Root 63 Brook 57)

An uneventful over from Boland.

03:24am

OVER 38: ENG 179/3 (Root 62 Brook 56)

Webster off, Green on. When Root swivel-pulls smoothly towards long leg, Labuschagne saves three runs with a fine scrambling stop. But there’s nothing he can do later in the over when Root hooks to the same part of the ground for four.

Root and Brook have added 122 largely risk-free runs in 25 overs. This is a belter of a pitch.

03:19am

OVER 37: ENG 173/3 (Root 57 Brook 55)

Boland returns for another crack at ending this partnership. The old ball is doing almost nothing and England pick up three more singles.

03:14am

OVER 36: ENG 170/3 (Root 55 Brook 54)

There was talk of some rain this afternoon but the weather remains fine for now. England won’t want to go off because Root and Brook are in control right now.

03:08am

OVER 35: ENG 165/3 (Root 52 Brook 52)

Starc has men scattered all over the place for Brook. He tries to bluff Brook, who is expecting everything short, by slipping in a low full toss; Brook waves it down the ground for a single.

03:00am

OVER 34: ENG 161/3 (Root 50 Brook 51)

Root cuts the new bowler Beau Webster for a single to reach a classy and clinical half-century from 65 balls. That run also brings up a vital hundred partnership with Brook.

Webster, who can bowl seam or spin, is bowling seam-up for now. Brook blasts his last ball to the point boundary to bring up his own fifty from 63 balls.

Joe Root acknowledges the applause from the crowd after reaching his fifty.

02:58am

An incredible piece of luck for Brook

That is an incredible slice of luck for Harry Brook. He’s taking on the short ball plan, which is pretty dim. There were three fielders converging on that, but it landed in probably the only square yard that could have kept him safe. I am shaking my head.

02:58am

OVER 33: ENG 155/3 (Root 49 Brook 46)

Brook is starting to play some risky strokes, particularly when Starc bangs the ball in. He cloths a pull for a single before Root dabs another to deep backward point.

Brook top-edges a pull stroke and is pretty fortunate to see the ball land between three fielders behind square on the leg side.

02:52am

OVER 32: ENG 152/3 (Root 48 Brook 44)

Brook glides Neser deftly to third man for another boundary. England are scoring at almost five an over without taking undue risks; it’s a reminder of why so many teams prefer to play this England side on wickets that do a bit.

02:47am

OVER 31: ENG 147/3 (Root 48 Brook 39)

Brook plays a wild shot out of nothing, backing away to hack a short ball from Starc through the off side. That was the plan, anyway - the ball flew over the keeper’s head and bounced short of the fine third man.

Starc tries his luck around the wicket to Root, who waves a majestic drive to the left of mid-off and away for four. He looks in beautiful touch.

02:42am

OVER 30: ENG 142/3 (Root 44 Brook 38)

Neser, on for Boland, drifts onto the pads of Brook and is put away for four. Brook is taking very few risks, the same approach he had on a similar surface at Adelaide. The MCG, not so much.

02:37am

OVER 29: ENG 137/3 (Root 44 Brook 33)

Harry Brook has been very restrained so far, hitting only two boundaries from 45 balls, yet he’s still scoring at a strike rate of 73. If Brook does become more clinical in the second half of his career, as Root has done, he’ll be a frightening prospect for bowlers around the world.

This excellent, intelligent partnership is now worth 80 in 16 overs.

02:31am

OVER 28: ENG 134/3 (Root 43 Brook 31)

Root, who has just gone past Zak Crawley to become England’s leading runscorer in the series, adds four more with a flamboyant square cut off Boland. It’s possible that Root will end with two centuries yet still feel like the series has been a disappointment.

277 Root
272 Crawley
263 Harry Brook

02:28am

OVER 27: ENG 130/3 (Root 39 Brook 31)

A quiet over from Starc. His pace is still above 90mph, an admirable effort for a 35-year-old who has played all five Tests, but these are among the toughest bowling conditions of the series.

02:22am

OVER 26: ENG 128/3 (Root 38 Brook 30)

An underarm throw from Labuschagne misses the stumps with Root scrambling to make his ground. That looked pretty tight.

Root, or anyone for that matter, would be filthy to be run out on this pitch. He shows again how true the surface is by driving Boland delightfully through extra cover for four.

02:17am

OVER 25: ENG 121/3 (Root 32 Brook 29)

A loose ball from Starc is clipped through square leg for an all-run four by Brook. Three singles take the partnership to 64 in just 12 overs; these are new beautiful conditions for batting.

02:13am

The afternoon session

Joe Root and Harry Brook return to the middle to resume their unbroken fourth-wicket partnership of 57. Mitchell Starc will open the bowling.

01:45am

Lunch verdict

Fine rebuilding job there from Joe Root and Harry Brook and the break came at just the wrong time for England as they began to dominate Australia’s all seam attack. England have a habit of losing wickets after an interval, and if they are to post a match shaping total on this pitch, it will probably require one of Root or Brook to make a hundred.

England lost three for 22 in a six-over collapse that threatened to throw away the opportunity to bat first on a pitch that is dry and will crack open. Ben Duckett played a couple of lovely clips off his legs and one or two agricultural heaves before edging behind a ball he could have left, again. Zak Crawley had just imperiously pulled Michael Neser for four before a fuller, nipping delivery had him leg before two balls before the drinks break. Jacob Bethell spent 14 balls on nought before unfurling a lovely cut off Starc for his first runs but a perfectly angled ball from over the wicket from Scott Boland nipped away and took the edge.

Root’s back cut/dab is working nicely which is always a good sign his feet are moving. Brook started dicily with two inside edges and a top edge over the slips as he struggled to adjust to a pitch that is bouncier than it looked. It was the bounce, rather than lateral movement that seemed to cause England more problems.

Positive, busy batting from Root is showing the others how to score and with Australia not picking a spinner at the SCG for the first time since 1888, they could start to look predictable and flat on a hot Sydney afternoon. Already this feels like it will be a good Test match after the farcical stuff at the MCG.

01:33am

OVER 24: ENG 114/3 (Root 31 Brook 23)

Root deflects Green through the slips for four, a deliberate and high-class stroke. He clearly trusts this pitch because he’s scoring a lot of runs behind square on the off side, an area that has got him in trouble in Australia in the past.

A single brings up the fifty partnership from 63 balls. Brook leans into a picture-perfect extra-cover drive for four, misses a lazy dab outside off and clips three more through midwicket. A nice way to end the session for England, who have doubled their score since losing their third wicket just after the drinks break.

01:28am

OVER 23: ENG 101/3 (Root 26 Brook 15)

In an ideal world England would have lost no more than two wickets this morning. But the ease with which Root and Brook have batted, and the depth in England’s line-up, means they are still in a reasonable position.

On this pitch they should be aiming to score 400 in a Test in Australia for the first time since 2017.

01:24am

OVER 22: ENG 96/3 (Root 22 Brook 15)

Root guides a short, widish delivery from Green past backward point for four. That’s a beautifully controlled stroke from Root, who looks more assured than at any stage since his Brisbane century. A thick-edged drive through points brings two more runs.

01:19am

OVER 21: ENG 87/3 (Root 15 Brook 14)

Neser replaces Boland, with Carey up the stumps again. It feels like the pitch is flattening out and that there will be plenty of runs on offer in the next couple of days.

Root and particularly Brook have played quite watchfully so far: Root has 15 from 26 balls, Brook 14 from 24.

01:15am

OVER 20: ENG 85/3 (Root 14 Brook 13)

Lovely shot from Root, who waves a wider ball from Green through backward point for four. Apart from a loose drive at his first ball, Root looks in excellent nick.

01:11am

OVER 19: ENG 80/3 (Root 10 Brook 12)

Root leans into a wider ball from Boland, push-driving pleasantly through the covers for two. Root looks particularly determined to take advantage of some of the better batting conditions of the series, particularly as his nemesis Pat Cummins isn’t playing.

01:05am

OVER 18: ENG 77/3 (Root 8 Brook 11)

Cam Green comes on for Michael Neser and concedes two singles from a quiet first over.

01:01am

OVER 17: ENG 75/3 (Root 7 Brook 10)

Brook tries to pull Boland, is a bit late on the shot and top edges it over the slip cordon for four. Still half an hour to go until lunch; England can’t really afford to lose a fourth wicket in that time.

Harry Brook top edges Scott Boland for four.

12:56am

OVER 16: ENG 67/3 (Root 6 Brook 3)

Carey comes up to the stumps to ensure Root stays creasebound against Neser. That tactic has worked so well throughout the series, but you need an exceptional keeper to pull it off.

12:52am

OVER 15: ENG 66/3 (Root 6 Brook 2)

It’s the bounce as much as the seam movement that is causing England problems. Brook, surprised by a seaming lifter from Brook, inside edges wide of the stumps to get off the mark.

Boland has a big LBW appeal turned down against Root. It was too high but another superb piece of bowling from Boland, the unsung hero of this series for Australia.

12:47am

OVER 14: ENG 63/3 (Root 6 Brook 0)

Root clips Neser for two to get off the mark, then unfurls a glorious extra-cover drive for four. That’s the shot of the morning so far.

12:42am

OVER 13: ENG 57/3 (Root 0 Brook 0)

England were looking good at 50 for one, but Australia firmly in charge now. That was a lovely bit of bowling from Boland, nip and bounce. Bethell had looked a million dollars for his... 10.

12:39am

Al Ahmed gets the biggest ovation of the morning

Interesting to see Ahmed Al Ahmed, the tobacco shop owner widely acclaimed as the ‘hero of Bondi’ for his courageous disarming of one of the perpetrators of last month’s massacre, at the SCG today. He is the subject of a media frenzy in Australia at the moment, with Sky News reporting that he ghosted them for a pre-planned interview after asking them to pay for a £3,000-a-night suite at the city’s Crown Towers hotel, and to release six white doves at the scene of the tragedy to reflect the six major religions in the country. But there has been no sign of the controversy here, with Al Ahmed, still carrying his arm in a sling, receiving the largest ovation of the morning.

12:38am Wickets

Wicket!

Bethell c Carey b Boland 10 The old don Scott Boland is too good for England’s emerging star. Bethell clipped him stylishly for four, so Boland switched to over the wicket and produced a snorter that bounced sharply to take the edge as Bethell pushed defensively. Alex Carey did the rest to leave England in a touch of bother. No real blame attached to Bethell there - it was brilliant bowling. FOW: 57/3

12:36am

OVER 12: ENG 51/2 (Bethell 4 Root 0)

Joe Root chases his first ball, tossed deliberately full and wide by Neser, and is beaten. Careful now.

12:35am

A bit of a soft dismissal

Crawley played beautifully here for his 77 four years ago, and looked good this morning, but on a day where England need a couple of their top order to go really big, he’s come and go just like Duckett. Nice bit of bowling from Neser, back for the last over before drinks, but a bit soft, the ball after an imposing pull for four.

12:34am

Drinks

That was the fourth ball of the over but the umpires have called for drinks while Joe Root comes to the crease.

England didn’t lose a review on the Crawley dismissal, incidentally - it was umpire’s call on height, just about, so they still have three remaining.

12:33am Wickets

Wicket!

Crawley LBW b Neser 16 Michael Neser returns to the attack and picks up Zak Crawley in his first over. Crawley pulled emphatically for four before being trapped in front as he walked across to a fullish nipbacker. He decided to review, just in case he had managed to get outside the line, but it was plumb. FOW: 51/2

12:28am

OVER 11: ENG 47/1 (Crawley 12 Bethell 4)

Bethell shapes to pull a sharp short ball from Starc, then wisely thinks better of it and yanks his head out of the way. Eventually he gets off the mark by back-cutting his 15th delivery for four, a high-class stroke. Many modern batsmen get fidgety if they are on nought for that long but Bethell has looked calm.

12:22am

OVER 10: ENG 43/1 (Crawley 12 Bethell 0)

Boland beats Bethell with a beautiful delivery that straightens off the seam from around the wicket. Starc took the wicket but Boland has been the pick of the Australian attack in the first hour.

Mitchell Starc celebrates the wicket of Ben Duckett.

12:19am

OVER 9: ENG 41/1 (Crawley 11 Bethell 0)

Starc’s fifth over is defended solidly by Bethell, who is content to play out the first maiden of the match.

12:12am

OVER 8: ENG 41/1 (Crawley 11 Bethell 0)

A full ball from Boland is driven sweetly down the ground for four by Crawley. Lovely shot, that, because it was still nowhere near a half-volley.

12:08am

OVER 7: ENG 35/1 (Crawley 5 Bethell 0)

That’s the fifth time in the series that Duckett has been dismissed between 21 and 34. The new batsman is ~~Brydon Carse~~ Jacob Bethell.

12:06am Wickets

Wicket!

Duckett c Carey b Starc 27 Duckett blasts and clips Starc for successive boundaries - but Starc has the last word with a textbook outswinger that Duckett edges through to the diving Carey. The end of another breezy cameo from Duckett, 27 from 24 balls. Still no fifty for him in this series. FOW: 35/1

12:02am

OVER 6: ENG 27/0 (Crawley 5 Duckett 19)

The relentlessly accurate Scott Boland replaces Michael Neser, who bowled two overs for six runs. He has an absurd record on this ground, with 17 Test wickets an average of 8 apiece. That includes a match-winning ten-for against India in the deciding Test a year ago.

He’s on the money straight away, beating Duckett with an immaculate delivery that straightens off the seam. There’s a biggish LBW appeal later in the over when Crawley offers no stroke outside off. It was too high but that’s a terrific start from Boland.

11:56pm

OVER 5: ENG 26/0 (Crawley 5 Duckett 18)

Starc, striving for the perfect outswinger to the left-hander, is too straight and put away through midwicket for four by Duckett.

After missing an attempted cut, when he was surprised by some extra bounce, Duckett larrups four more through mid-off. Early days but this looks like a big opportunity for England’s batters to release some of the frustrations of this tour.

11:51pm

OVER 4: ENG 17/0 (Crawley 5 Duckett 9)

This hasn’t been the best start from Australia. Starc and Neser have bowled some dangerous deliveries but haven’t found the usual consistency of line and length.

11:48pm

OVER 3: ENG 15/0 (Crawley 5 Duckett 8)

An attempted yorker from Starc is punched through mid-on for two by Duckett. Crawley wanted a third, was sent back and almost slipped as he turned.

There’s a strangled shout for LBW when Crawley pushes around an inswinger. Missing leg, probably too high. A fairly comfortable start for England, at least when compared to some of their other innings in this series. Mitchell Starc is wicketless after two overs for heaven’s sake.

Ben Duckett reacts to a delivery from Mitchell Starc.

11:41pm

OVER 2: ENG 11/0 (Crawley 5 Duckett 5)

Crawley pushes at a good delivery from Michael Neser and edges it between third slip and gully for four. That was close, and the likelihood is that batting will be tricky for the first two or three hours of this game before the pitch flattens out.

11:36pm

OVER 1: ENG 5/0 (Crawley 1 Duckett 4)

An early scare for Ben Duckett, whose first ball from Mitchell Starc is an outswinging yorker that beats the bat and just misses off stump.

Duckett leaves one delivery outside off stump before clipping Starc off the pads for four.

11:33pm

No room for Labuschagne in Australia slip cordon

Australia’s slip cordon is now so good that Marnus Labuschagne doesn’t get in it. Beau Webster, the vast all-rounder has slotted in at third, while Usman Khawaja gets the senior man’s privilege at first.

11:25pm

The SCG pays tribute

Beautiful tribute to the victims of the Bondi terror attacks, which happened three weeks ago today just a couple of miles away. Moving scenes as the two teams lined up to welcome some of the first responders.

Ahmed al-Ahmed, who risked his life to disarm one of the gunmen during the Bondi terror attacks, lines up on the field before the game.

11:07pm

A big day for England’s top three

That’s four toss wins for England this series. The only one they lost was the game Cummins played, not Smith.

They will bat, which suggests they think it is flat and dry, although not flat and dry enough for them to pick Bashir. Big day for their top three. England are not great at setting games up, or batting in the third innings.

Jacob Bethell will be in action with the bat on day one.

11:04pm

The teams

Matthew Potts replaces Gus Atkinson in the only change to the England XI that won at Melbourne. Australia also make a single change - Beau Webster, who can bowl seam and spin, replaces Jhye Richardson. That gives Australia a seriously strong lower order.

Australia Head, Weatherald, Labuschagne, Smith (c), Khawaja, Carey (wk), Green, Webster, Neser, Starc, Boland.

England Crawley, Duckett, Bethell, Root, Brook, Stokes (c), Smith (wk), Jacks, Carse, Potts, Tongue.

11:02pm

England win the toss and bat

“Good conditions for batting,” says Ben Stokes, looking up to the sunny skies. “Hopefully we can put a good score on the board.”

Steve Smith says he would batted. Both teams have gone in without a specialist spinner at Sydney. “Hate doing it,” says Smith, “but we keep producing wickets that we don’t think will spin. You kind of get pushed into a corner.”

10:49pm

Sunshine in Sydney... for now

Easily the hottest day since we have been in Sydney. There was some heavy rain first thing, and there’s a chance of storms at some stage, but let’s see. The pitch has lost its greenness and has a yellow-y look.

The first day at the SCG has a Lord’s-y feel. The members queue up in the dark to get the best seats available in the beautiful old Pavilion and Ladies’ Stand

10:40pm

Pitch inspection

The curator has left 5mm of grass on the wicket at Sydney - there were 10mm on the MCG pitch that produced another remarkable two-day pitch. The consensus is that it will do a bit early on before flattening out, and that whoever wins the toss should bat first.

10:39pm

The Ashes’ most valuable artefact

Follow up today to this piece about my quest to track down the ashtray given to Harold Larwood by Douglas Jardine. The piece was syndicated in the Sydney Morning Herald last week. One reader got in touch with the SCG Trust to say he had the bat with which Larwood scored 98 as nightwatchman in his final Test in 1932-33 - the last Bodyline Test at the SCG. It was the highest score by an England nightwatchman until Alex Tudor’s 99 in 1999. Anyway, he is bringing the bat today and wants to show me and it will go on display in the SCG museum for the whole Test. Apparently it was given to a family member by Larwood as thank you for compiling his tax accounts when he ran a sweet shop in Blackpool. Lovely story.

Harold Larwood's ashtray, a gift from his captain Douglas Jardine, is one of the great Ashes artefacts

10:34pm

Potts preferred to Bashir in England XI

Looks like no Shoaib Bashir for England so Matthew Potts plays his first Test since Hamilton in December 2024.

10:33pm

This could be Brendon McCullum’s last Test in charge

Not sure I have covered a dead rubber with so much at stake. My hunch is this is Brendon McCullum’s last Test in charge of the England team but the result here will have a say on whether that is the case or not. McCullum did wonders to lift England three years ago, instilled an identity and method in a team that had been rudderless for years but his strength turned to a weakness over the past 12 months with the team now looking insular and a clique.

The trip to Noosa was a poor decision and speaks of a culture that needs to be more professional. Talk of bolstering his backroom team seems misjudged to me. McCullum surrounds himself with his own men, will he want anyone imposed on him? And how would the players react if a more technical assistant coach is brought in when the head coach has been deriding that sort of specialism for years? Big decisions ahead.

Jacob Bethell and Ben Duckett warm up at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

10:13pm

My six-hour lunch with the dads of the England batsmen

By Nick Hoult

Cricket is a small community and there is no better example of that on this Ashes tour than the three men sitting around a restaurant table overlooking the Yarra River in Melbourne.

Graham Bethell, Graham Duckett and Matt Root are all old team-mates enjoying a second life in cricket as England dads on tour watching their sons play in the Ashes.

Khawaja’s deserved criticism was nothing to do with race

By Oliver Brown

England lack leaders and Ben Stokes needs Harry Brook to step up

By Will Macpherson

Atop England’s Test team, Ben Stokes has stood alone on this brutal Ashes tour.

It is clear that Stokes needs support. To listen to him on the eve of this match was to hear a man who cannot do it all. He joked that “it’s getting into the territory of my bat, my ball”, in reference to the fact that some pundits think he should bat No 3, and others think he should take the new ball. It was tongue in cheek, but had a kernel of truth. Stokes showed vulnerability in admitting that it was impossible for him or his team-mates to switch off in 2025, saying the only way to escape was “just throw your phone in the river”.

“Especially at the start of the tour, everything was just on top of us as a team,” Stokes said. “It’s been even higher than any other tour I’ve been on. The world’s changed as well. Social media, media in general – it’s changed a lot and [it’s] impossible not to see anything these days. So when you put on the pressure of trying to perform for your country in a huge series plus all of the other stuff that comes with a tour of Australia, it’s been a tough one, but you don’t expect everything to be easy.”

Good evening

And so to Sydney, home of the Ashes dead rubber. The last time the urn was still at stake during a Test at the SCG was in 1994-95 – and that’s only because it was the third Test of the series. Since then it has been either the fourth or fifth match, by which time England’s hopes have long gone. Even during the glorious exception of 2010-11, when England led 2-1 going into the final Test, the Ashes had been retained.

It’s hard to shake a feeling of anti-climax ahead of this game, such were the pre-series hopes that it would be an Ashes decider for the ages. Instead it has a quieter significance: 3-2 has a nice ring to it, or at least a nicer ring than 4-1, and another England win here would surely enhance their chances of victory when this rivalry resumes in – gulp – 17 months’ time.

As well as being Usman Khawaja’s farewell Test, this match could shape the futures of several individuals, including Brendon McCullum, Rob Key, Jake Weatherald, Matthew Potts, Shoaib Bashir and even established players like Harry Brook. A first Ashes ton would make him an even more dangerous proposition next time these teams meet.

All those individual stories will develop in the context of a Test match, something Ben Stokes was keen to stress before the game. “There shouldn’t be any reason for anyone to get individual or insular about what they want to do this week,” he said. “As soon as someone starts thinking about their own performances it becomes quite easy to see through.

“I think one thing I’ve managed to get into this group is that everything you do, think or say is always about what’s best for the team and not yourself. So whoever goes out there this week, everything they do and every decision they make will be about what the team needs.”

The match starts at 11.30pm BST.

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